Athletic fee bill changes ASU football ticketing system

The ASU student section celebrates a 32-20 victory over Wisconsin in 2013. Student ticket distribution will change this season. (Photo by Dominic Valente)

With a new $150-per-year athletic fee in place, students now have free admittance to all ASU athletic events, and ticket distribution for home football games will change.

Unlike in years past when students could purchase season tickets through myASU and reserve their seats online, tickets will now be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

A subcommittee of the Student Athletic Fee Operations Board began meeting in late April and early May to determine how the distribution system would work and after six weeks of meetings a proposal was decided upon.

Associate Athletic Director Bill Kennedy said approximately 25 percent of seats in each venue will be allocated for students.

For home football games, students will be able to pick up their tickets from Wells Fargo Arena five hours before kickoff.

Unlike in years past when students would only receive a wristband, Kennedy said they will now be given a card that has section, row and seat number.

“We’ve had issues due to students trying to crowd into sections they didn’t have wristbands for,” Kennedy said. “This will help us manage that. Now if a student goes to the restroom or the concession stand and there’s overcrowding, they will be able to get their seat back.”

Once students are in possession of their wristband and card, they will effectively be admitted to the stadium, Kennedy said. They will be able to enter from any of the stadium’s gates without having to wait in a separate student line.

The first 500 students to pick up their tickets to home football games will be given a special wristband that allows them into the lower rows of sections 32 and 33, much like in past years.

Additionally, students will still be able to purchase guest passes as they have been in the past through the ticket office.

Kennedy said that the process to determine the ticketing system was student-led and student-approved, with students involved in all subcommittee meetings.

“Ultimately this is what they wanted, this was their proposal,” Kennedy said. “The whole process was student-drive and student-approved.”

Business communications senior Zahra Giga said she has been confused over past systems.

“I have been confused because of the lack of information that has been given to students,” she said.

She also said the new system has positive aspects and potential pitfalls.

“I think the idea is good in theory,” she said. “It is a lot more organized to assign people to a place, but people want to sit by their friends.”

Giga pointed out that given that students are on different schedules, it might be difficult for groups of fans to coordinate a time to pick up their tickets together.

“Everyone is on different schedules so to say you have to pick up your tickets in groups is hard,” she said. “Especially as an upperclassman, I have work and other obligations that take priority over picking up football tickets.”

Communications senior Alex Daniel purchased tickets to football games online during his freshman year and said he thinks the new system will be a step in the right direction.

“It’s probably an improvement,” he said. “It’s at least a decent idea.”

Daniel pointed out that while the system of getting tickets is an important factor, it likely won’t determine if he attends the games.

“It probably won’t get me to attend more games than I have in the past but we’ll see,” he said. “ASU fielding a competitive team will always be the major factor.”

Reach the reporter at icbeck@asu.edu and follow him on Twitter @ICBeck21.